Pertussis Vaccine Type | Usage | Precautions | Side Effects
Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is caused by Bordetella pertussis – a gram-negative bacteria transmitted from person to person via airborne droplets.
Clinically the disease is characterized by persistent cough with a characteristic inspiratory ‘whoop’. Children are the commonly infected population. In adults it can cause chronic cough usually without the characteristic whooping sound, called the ‘hundred day cough.’
Pertussis Vaccine
Pertussis vaccine is given in combination with tetanus and diphtheria vaccines as DTaP and Tdap.
See Tetanus immunization for details.
Pertussis vaccine can cause neurologic problems in some recipients, such people are advised to receive pertussis-free combinations of vaccines like DT and Td for prevention against tetanus and diphtheria